Milwaukee Yamaha Rider Josh Brookes crashed out at Thruxton this weekend, yet stole the show with a double win and lap record!
Racing in the Moto3 Racing Class Taz Taylor fought through an unpredictable weekend, taking first and fourth place respectively. This was no different for the BSB riders. The Thruxton track is famed as the UK’s fastest circuit, an old, World War II RAF air field that’s hosted motorsport since 1950, this track takes no prisoners.
Shayne ‘Shakey’ Byrne, BSB reigning champion, had a tough weekend of it and knew it, “In all of the years I’ve ridden for Paul Bird Motorsport, be it on Honda, Kawasakis or Ducatis, I don’t ever recall such a difficult weekend.” Byrne, who sits at second in the league standings, a credible 107 points above James Ellison, began in the sixth lane for race one. He fought throughout the race to beat this by the finish, in which he succeeded, resulting in a place at fourth, a smidge off the podium. The flat ground was uncomfortable, unknown territory for Byrne which perhaps sparked his fire for race number two where he took his trophy on higher ground for finishing in second. A well-earned twenty point boost for his league position.
Perhaps unexpectedly, a rookie rider – Luke Mossey – was the dark horse of the weekend and claimed his debut podium position in race two, taking home third place. True to its nature, this unpredictable track seems to churn out unpredictable results. Mossey was excited but doesn’t feel much has changed, “we’ve had a good weekend, but the aim every weekend this year is just to be top ten.” Could Mossey’s humble attitude keep his level-head in check and result in more excitement from races to come?
The biggest smiles of the weekend came from Josh Brookes, the current league champion and new lap record holder for Thruxton. He managed to crash out, yet achieve a double win, as the crash seemed provoked by all of his excitement and came after he’d flown through the second race finish line. “After Brands Hatch (another double win) everyone was definitely carrying some confidence and a good mood in the team and that spilled onto this weekend.” It seems Brookes has a longstanding, positive relationship with Thruxton as this was the setting for his first race win back in 2010. He also celebrated a new lap record, a nine-year standing achievement for the Thruxton track, by outperforming Gregorio Lavilla, the lap champion in 2006.
This weekend was exciting for the MCE BSB and the Moto3 Racing class, HEL Performance Motostar Championship league, as Thruxton gave all the riders a shake up. Unexpected results for unexpected riders has made the competition all the more interesting, giving us all the more reason to look out for the next race at Cadwell Park on 21st – 23rd August.
Thanks and photo credit goes to the MCE BSB website.
